


Bentley

by Fidollwa



Category: Mystery Skulls Animated
Genre: Not all the ghosts the gang run into are people, Oneshot, kinda sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-26
Updated: 2020-02-26
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:15:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22906084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fidollwa/pseuds/Fidollwa
Summary: A normal night out takes a turn when the gang crosses paths with a little ghost on a mission
Comments: 1
Kudos: 44





	Bentley

"Vivi for the love of- be careful please!" 

The woman either didn't hear Lewis or chose to ignore him, running and sliding on the patches of ice. She was practically vibrating with excitement during dinner. The excellent view of the snowfall outside the restaurant definitely didn't help either. Lewis sighed, speed walking after her and much more careful to avoid the icy spots.

Vivi finally came upon a worthy snow drift and fell gracelessly into it. The snow was still soft and poofed up into a cloud around her. Lewis caught up to them first with Arthur lagging behind. 

"Really Vi, you don't even have a coat on," Lewis offered her a warm hand and pulled her to her feet in one motion.

She snickered, shaking the snow out of her hair. "Worth it!"

She shook the snow out of the crooks of her sweater in one exaggerated motion. Lewis offered her coat, rolling his eyes good naturedly. 

"I don't know how you stand the stuff Vi," Arthur's teeth were already chattering, "I feel like I'm about to lose my fingers!"

"Psh!" Vivi was busy trying to wrangle her scarf into her coat. "It's not that bad Arthur! It's only what? Twenty?"

"Wind chill, Vi," Arthur shuddered kicking at the snow at his feet, "wind chill."

"Okay, okay, fine!" She plants her hands on her hips with a devilish grin on her face. "But don't think you're getting out of here without at least one good snowball fight! We're only here for a few days and I intend to make the most of it!"

Vivi set off again, mouth open to catch snowflakes. She always did love the winter, snow and miserable ice and all. Lewis patted his friends shoulder in sympathy as the mechanic shuddered again. Whether it was cold or dread the world may never know.

They eventually caught up with the woman when they heard it. A sharp yipping noise gradually getting closer as they walked.

Before they even guess what it was, a tiny furball burst out from some dead underbrush. It's ferocious barking biled it's small stature. The little dog stopped a ways in front of them and barked incessantly. 

"What-"

"Oh my god-"

Vivi's near squeal of delight drowned out the other two. Her hands on her cheeks, she looked at the little dog like it was Christmas come early. Mostly because the dog was a little see through. But also in part because it was very cute if you could get past the yapping.

"Is that a ghost dog?" Arthur was hanging back. It was a healthy distance considering he was not mentally prepared for spirits of any sort. 

"It is! Oh my gosh-" Vivi was already stepping forward. She luckily kept her approach slow and stopped just before the little ghost. Though she held out her hand for the dog to sniff, it seemed uninterested. Instead it yipped a few more times and stamped it's feet. 

"Maybe it was a stray?" Lewis offered. The look on his face said he'd probably give it a few pets if he could. "Poor guy."

Vivi was crouched in front, trying to coax the dog closer. "I think I see a little collar on him..."

The dog barked again, stamping it's front feet impatiently. Sure enough, around his neck was a small tag that glowed a soft purple. As Vivi tried to reach for it the dog darted back. It stopped a few steps away and barked again, staring at them all.

"I think he wants us to follow!" Vivi turned back to them, looking way more excited than she ought to be. 

Seeming to understand, the little ghost dog yipped one more time before taking off down the street. Without another word Vivi was running after it.

"Are we really doing this?" Arthur said but made to follow after his friends anyway. 

Luckily the dog wasn't that fast. It took them down the street and around a corner, stopping occasionally to make sure they were still following. The air was bitterly cold so no one was out except them. Eventually the dog stopped, turned around, and started barking even more insistently. 

They were standing in front of a small house. Nothing stood out too much. It was a small, one story place with a little garden out front that was bare from the winter. If you looked a bit closer, you might notice the light on in one of the windows.

The ghost dog barked again and scampered up the little walkway to the front door. 

"We can't follow it in there!" Arthur tried to reason with his friends even with Vivi already halfway to the door.

"It might be where his owner lives," Lewis offered with a shrug. "Can't hurt to knock."

"Or maybe it's someone who kills little dogs for fun," Arthur grumbled, burying himself into his coat.

They got to the door as Vivi hopped up the steps. She knocked, loudly at that, and they waited. And kept waiting. Lewis glanced behind them and Arthur shivered. 

"Maybe no ones home?" Arthur suggested, vainly hoping this didn't involve them going into the house. 

"The lights on though!" Vivi tried to lean over to see in the window but the curtains blocked most of the view. She knocked again, just as loud.

Their attempts didn't seem to be enough for their new ghost friend. The little dog started barking again, jumping up and generally going nuts. Vivi went to try and calm the poor thing down just as the dog ran straight through the front door. 

They could still hear it barking from the other side.

Vivi turned towards them with a look that screamed 'what are you gonna do?' before trying the door knob. The door was unlocked and she stepped inside. 

"Oh, this is a cute little pla- oh my god!"

That had them running in after her. Lewis shouldered the door open to find Vivi in the next room over, crouched over something. She turned around and revealed the frail form of a woman on the floor. 

"Call 911!"

Arthur's already got his phone out as Lewis goes to help. She'd apparently fallen in the middle of making something. Shards of glass from a plate littered the kitchen floor. What cuts the woman had didn't seem to be bleeding anymore. She was laying in front of a counter, drawers pulled out in an attempt to get back up. Lewis caught sight of a phone on the counter. Help was so close but just out of reach.

Luckily help had gotten to her eventually anyways. The little dog was sniffing at the woman and trying to lick her face. Vivi felt for a pulse.

"She's still alive, thank god."

The levity of the situation was gone. Vivi was gently shaking her, seeing if she could get the woman to come around. Arthur quickly ducked out to get the address and flag down the paramedics when they got here. 

Lewis carefully stepped over her, crouching down on the other side. The little dog was still trying to get the woman's attention. When she didn't respond, he laid down on the floor, watching her intently. This was why he was so insistent on them following. How long had this woman been on the floor with no one to help? No one had known besides this tiny dog.

A groan caught their attention. The woman coughed, shrinking in on herself more.

"Hey! It's okay, help is on the way!" Vivi was quick to reassure her. "My name's Vivi. This is Lewis."

The woman looked around with bleary eyes. When they landed on the dog she squinted a bit. 

"Bentley?" She croaked, her voice horribly dry.

The dog, Bentley apparently, leapt up and starting yapping excitedly. He licked at his owner's face again with his tail going a mile a minute. The woman managed a weak laugh. 

"Is this... your dog?" Vivi asked quietly.

The woman coughed again, only managing to speak when she caught her breath. "Such a good boy..."

There were sirens outside. Soon a flurry of activity rushed in as paramedics had them move out of the way. The woman seemed a bit more with it now and luckily didn't break anything in the fall. They quickly loaded her up onto a gurney and hustled her out of the house. Lewis might've missed it in all the chaos but he didn't see the dog anywhere.

As they were lead back outside, his eyes caught on a bookshelf. It was absolutely filled with pictures. Some old, some new. The one at the center seemed a few years old at least. The woman and a man stood in this living room, clearly happy with boxes all around them. Sleeping in the woman's arms was a little puppy with a familiar collar around its neck.


End file.
